2019 Fiat 500X vs 2021 Fiat Ducato

What's the difference?

Fiat's indomitable 500 is one of the great survivors - not even VW's recently deceased New Beetle could keep riding the nostalgia wave, partly because it made itself just that little bit out-of-touch by not being a car anyone can buy. The 500 avoided that, particularly in its home market, and is still going strong.

Fiat added the 500X compact SUV a few years ago and at first I thought it was a daft idea. It's a polarising car, partly because some people complain it's capitalising on the 500's history. Well, duh. It's worked out well for Mini, so why not?

I've driven one every year for the last couple so I was keen to see what's up and whether it's still one of the weirdest cars on the road.

The Ducato originated in 1981 through a joint venture between Fiat and PSA Peugeot-Citroen, which are both now part of the recently formed Stellantis conglomerate. The Ducato has evolved through four decades and several generations, with more than 2.6 million sold in a variety of body styles (including popular motorhomes) and wheelbases.

The current generation van, which competes in the 3501-8000kg GVM commercial class, is also marketed as the Peugeot Boxer, which was tested at maximum GVM by CarsGuide in 2020. Despite many similarities between them, the latest iteration of the Ducato is more than just a badge-engineered version of its French sibling.

The MY21 Fiat Professional Ducato Series 7 is equipped with an all-new drivetrain, updated safety and convenience features and a class-leading two-tonne-plus payload capacity, which we recently put to the test.